


Let's Come to an Agreement

by mandaree1



Category: OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes
Genre: Flower Crowns, Gen, T.K.O. being T.K.O., The visualization box
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-15 05:09:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13606227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mandaree1/pseuds/mandaree1
Summary: K.O. tries to connect with T.K.O.





	Let's Come to an Agreement

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: Mentions of Mystery Science Fair 201X, which hasn't officially come out on TV yet.

"Have you tried visualizing the problem?"

"Have I tried what now?"

Dendy let out a sigh as she plugged in a fistful of wires. The laboratory was still mostly in shambles, though the kappa had wasted no time in making repairs. "Using your imagination. You've met T.K.O. in your mind before, right?"

"Yeah, I guess." K.O. shifted awkwardly, legs dangling off the table. "When I fought him for control of my body."

"Well, I see no reason why you couldn't do it again."

"But I don't _wanna_  fight him!"

"I meant  _meet up_  with him." She turned to face him, holding a finger up. "Sorry, that wasn't very clear of me."

The boy shrugged, tapping his fingers on his knee.

"If you really wanted to," Dendy hastened to add.

K.O. hesitantly met her eye. "But... it could be dangerous. There's no way he won't try and take over my body again. It's, like, his whole shtick."

She walked over and set her hand on his. "K.O."

"Yeah?"

"At the end of the day, your mind is your's. You alone control what it looks like." Dendy adjusted her goggles. "If you really feel confident that you can do this, you  _can_  do it."

"Thanks, Dendy. I'll consider it."

* * *

K.O. wasn't sure what he expected to see when he slipped through the trapdoor he imagined in his mind, closing and locking it behind him, but T.K.O sleeping certainly wasn't it.

The brain room was dark. Everything seemed muted; even the stars that came and crackled in and out, fizzling with electricity. K.O.'s steps made a flap-flap-flap sound as he walked across the floor, fists clenched nervously. T.K.O. snored on, curled up like a dog. He reached him, bent down on one knee, and lifted a hand to gently shake his shoulder, only to be caught at the wrist.

"Attacking a guy while he's sleeping, huh?" T.K.O. growled, turning one dark eye on him. "I see how it is."

"What? No!" He pulled back, surprised when he let go. K.O. raised his hands for peace as T.K.O. rolled onto his rear, sleepily rifling through his hair. "You've got it all wrong!"

"Don't lie to me," he said, but didn't seem interested in fighting him just yet. "Where are we?"

"In my visualization box!"

"Your  _what_?"

"It's like the place we met before, only without the cage!"

"Huh." T.K.O. glanced around. "So it is."

K.O. slid to the floor, carefully keeping his hands up. He crossed his legs. "Why were you sleeping?"

T.K.O. blinks once. He looks too confused to be insulted. "Weren't  _you_  sleeping?"

"Well, yeah. Then I woke up." He fiddled with his fingers. "And I remembered what Dendy told me, so..."

"Dendy?" he echoed, his face slowly lighting up. " _Oh_. The science baby. Right."

"You're not very good with names, huh?"

"You're not very good at minding your own business, are ya, twerp?"

"Twerp? That's evildoer talk."

T.K.O. snorted.

* * *

The second time, T.K.O. threw a single power punch his way, which K.O. just barely dodged. The former looked even more battered than usual.

"Why you gotta come bug me at night, huh?" he demanded, curling up in a tighter ball. "It's bad enough I have to breathe the same air as you, but you keep coming by in the middle of the night."

"I couldn't sleep," K.O. admitted sheepishly, sitting down.

"Well, I could," T.K.O. said with his eyes closed. "So buzz off."

"I'm kinda surprised, you know? That you haven't attacked me yet."

"You _want_  me to attack you?"

"No! I just, well... thought  _you'd_  want to."

T.K.O. blew some of his bristled hair out of his face. "Before the sun rises, these fists don't do any pounding."

"Awesome!"

"But I  _might_  make an exception if you don't shut up."

"Not awesome!"

* * *

"I'm still kind of shocked that you haven't clocked me yet," K.O. said, but the way he said it was like when a friend turns and suddenly asks for five bucks; mildly cranky, and unsure, but ultimately willing to go with it.

T.K.O. is not that nice. K.O. doesn't think he ever is. "Is that my cue to start wailing?"

"No!" he cried, but he didn't feel quite scared. K.O. wasn't entirely sure why he wasn't, but he wasn't, and that was how it was. "You'd mess up all my hard work, anyway."

"How'd you smuggle flowers in, anyway?"

"It's  _my_  visualization box, and I can do whatever I want with it." He clumsily tied a knot in a stem, knowing all the while that a real flower would've busted apart by now. "Even make hair pretty."

"This is stupid," T.K.O. complained, but the next time K.O. visited he had a bundle of flowers curled up in his arms like teddy bears while he slept.

* * *

"Hey, dude, you doing okay?" Rad poked K.O. in the cheek, the boy in question slumped against the counter. "Your bags are carrying bags, bro."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." He lifted his head to yawn. "I just haven't been sleeping as much as I normally do."

"Any reason why?" Enid asked, tilting back in her chair. "Do we need to beat some nightmares up for you?"

K.O. shook his head. "Nah, I'm fine."

(It wasn't easy for him to justify the lie to himself, but it's still justifiable. T.K.O. is a pretty intimidating force to be reckoned with, even though he's been remarkably patient with the disruptions, and K.O. doesn't want them to worry about him. If there was even the slightest bit of danger, he'd run screaming for the hills. That's just his way.)

* * *

The first attempt T.K.O. made for the trapdoor, K.O. almost had a heart attack. By the fifth, he just politely stepped out of the way, letting him bang at the invisible field keeping him trapped.

"Is it really so bad here?" he asked him one time, too naive to realize how insensitive that might be. "You've got everything you need, and you can sleep all you want. You like to sleep, don't you?"

T.K.O. stopped pounding, staring resolutely into the blackness beneath his hands. "I'll get out one day. Just you wait."

"And what'll you do then?"

He shrugged. "Gotta get out first."

* * *

Dendy tapped her pen on the clipboard she had, scribbling in a few lines. Her handwriting is atrocious, but K.O. expected no less. He just preferred having the paper over her typical screen. "So, you believe he's trying to escape the mindscape again?"

"I don't think he ever stops trying to escape," he responded truthfully. "I think he just, like, takes breaks?"

"Should we stop the experiment, you think?"

"I dunno. I don't _think_  I'm in any danger." K.O. grimaced. "But I guess that could change, huh?"

Dendy set the clipboard down, face blank. K.O. thought she probably didn't know what to feel, so she didn't feel much at all. That was just her way. "It's up to you, K.O."

He gave her a hug. "Thanks, Dendy."

"Thank you, K.O." She returned it with a shy smile. "I'm attempting to make up for my past attempts at experimenting with your powers, but I'm sure there's still much to be done."

"You're doing great, Dendy."

"I'm still learning." She tapped the tops of her goggles. "And learning is the greatest challenge of all."

* * *

K.O. felt guilty the first few days, thinking of the way T.K.O.'s fists had pounded on the inescapable walls, the flowers he'd woven into his hair like they were old friends. But then he thought of the scarcely hidden disdain he'd exhibited, and he tried to convince himself that he was doing the alter ego a favor. He was catching up on his sleep, and T.K.O. was too. And T.K.O. could do whatever he wanted without being scolded. Punch, kick, spit- whatever was up his alley.

(Not that the scolding ever made him stop or anything, but it clearly irritated him.)

And that was all fine and dandy, until about two weeks later, when he stirred in bed by a finger poking him in the neck and a devious, enthusiastic chuckling.

"Guess what, loser," a voice whispered next to his ear. "I can do it too."

* * *

"YOU'RE IN MY ROOM!" K.O. shrieked as he fell out of bed. "BUT I AM TOO!? I'M VERY CONFUSED RIGHT NOW!"

T.K.O. snorted and rolled his eyes, batting the lampshade off the table like a disapproving cat. "No, you dingus. You're in  _my_  visualization box." He walked over and kicked the edge of K.O.'s bed. "Y'know, I never understood these things. I know what they are and all, but what's the point? You'll just roll off in the middle of the night. Carpet is  _way_  better."

"But the visualization box was  _my_  thing!" he cried, eyes stretched wide. "Stop trashing my room!"

"None of it's real," he replied, instead of giving the apology K.O. felt he deserved. "It's like a dream, but cooler, because I'm here now."

"Do you  _have_  to be here?"

"Nope." T.K.O. flopped his butt down on the floor, leaning his back against the stand beside the bed. He looked oddly peaceful. "But you better get used to it."

When K.O. woke, the lampshade was fine, but somehow that made him feel worse than if it had been in a million pieces.

* * *

"This is bad," Dendy pronounced, taking a few notes in her holographic computer to transcribe later.

"YOU THINK!?" K.O. smushed his hands to his face. "Ugh, this is a disaster."

"No kidding." Enid leaned over the counter, looking at the two children with a mildly betrayed frown. "Seriously, K.O., you could've given us some warning before you decided to poke the sleeping bear."

"I'm giving you guys warning now," he said, hoping that came across as decently reasonable. He clutched at his headband, as if afraid it would come flying off at any moment. "Now that he can take over my visualization box, there's no telling how far he can invade my privacy."

"I mean, you kinda invaded his first." Rad raised his hands in a half-shrug. "When you think about it."

"Maybe," K.O. admitted. "But I'm not a threat to the people around me.  _He_  is."

Dendy clapped her hands shut. "Well, there's really only two options here. Now that T.K.O. has access, you can either let him do what he wants, or take a stand against it."

He groaned. "Both of those are bad ideas."

"I never said they were  _good_. Simply that there isn't any other options."

* * *

"Are you going to try taking me over again?" K.O. asked bluntly, looking up. T.K.O. wasn't one for small, having gone from his bedroom to the park in a matter of days. He was standing on grass that had no real texture, created quickly and amateurishly, and trees that almost appeared to be made of rubber

"Eventually." T.K.O. had a stick he was using as a toothpick. "I'm working my way up to that."

"You know I can't let that happen, right?"

He laughed, hopping off the tree branch with a grunt of exertion. "You know you're no competition for me, right? Not without that cage."

"Do we have to fight?" K.O. pleaded. "Can't we just stay here, and be okay with that?"

"I'm not fighting," T.K.O. answered, undeterred. "I'm stating facts. It's not my fault you're selfish."

The jab hit him square in the tummy. " _I'm_  selfish?" K.O. stood up, clenching his hands into fists. "Me? I'm the selfish one here?"

"Yup. Glad to see you've recognized it."

K.O. knew it wasn't the smartest idea, but he poked him in the chest anyway. "How am  _I_  selfish?  _You're_  the one threatening to take over my body! What about my life? My friends? My mommy?"

T.K.O. grabbed his wrist, and it occurred to K.O. that he still hadn't made any attempt to hit him.

"It's  _our_  body," he growled. " _Our_  life. What's it going to take for you to realize that?" T.K.O. gestured to the trees. "We  _both_  exist here, and we  _both_  exist in the real world." He pushed K.O.'s hand back into his chest. "You're just terrible at sharing."

"I had it first!"

"I know. And it's time you handed some of it over." He made it sound like it was a candy bar, and K.O. had given him a single square, when 'it' had much more complicated connotations than that. It was life. It was existence. It was friendship, and hugs; and, yes, even candy bars. T.K.O. wanted it all, while K.O. wasn't sure if he liked the price tag that involved. "Now, gimme or get."

"I guess I'm getting, then."

T.K.O. met his eyes. There wasn't any surprise there. Just indignation. "Don't come back."

* * *

K.O. comes back a week later. It's the first time T.K.O. tries to hit him in the mindspace, but K.O. had come prepared, catching the punch between his two hands, wincing as it neared his nose. He could smell the static.

"You've got guts, K.O.," he said. "Or a death wish."

"We need to set some ground rules," K.O. said.

T.K.O. smiled sadistically. "Fighting doesn't have rules."

"I'm not here to fight."

"Too bad. I want one."

"I'll let you out," he clarified, and T.K.O. went very still. "But only if you swear off attacking the Bodega,  _or_  my friends,  _or_  my mom."

"That's it?" The doppelganger was shocked. "You'll let me out, just like that?"

"Only for a little bit. I'm testing the waters."

T.K.O. barked out a laugh. "You make it sound like this is on a light-switch."

"Maybe not," he agreed. "But I know how to stop you if I need to."

"Touche."

* * *

T.K.O. doesn't tell Carol he's here. Considering his already limited time, it was probably for the best. He figured that announcing himself would only lead to scorn, which would lead to him getting angry, which would lead to K.O. trying to corral him. T.K.O. wanted to enjoy some time in this world that  _didn't_  involve struggling for control. He just wanted to  _be,_  and be strong, and maybe to punch something.

He slipped on a coat (a disgustingly bright blue one, he noticed), and hopped out the window, landing with a grunt. It's dark outside, but not like how it is in the cage; there's a breeze, the whisper of trees moving back and forth. T.K.O. laughed as he snapped a twig off, relishing in the fact that he wasn't the only living thing around.

It goes smoothly, for an hour or so, but everything nice comes to an end.

* * *

"Hey, dork!"

T.K.O. turned, eyes narrowed, as the familiar whirring of saw blades struck his ears. Shannon edged out of the shadows with a smile.

"You're on Boxmore property, you dunce," she said. "Which means you're in for a walloping."

"Am I?" he asked, smiling at the thought. The tips of his canines dug into his lip. "You know, we're a lot alike."

Shannon scowled. "What're you taking about?"

T.K.O. shrugged, twisting slightly to face her. "We're acceptable losses. You ever think about that type of thing? We fight all the time, but nobody cares, because we're both replaceable. There's been a million Shannons, and there'll be a million more before Boxhead stops production of your model." His fists began to glow purple. "And nobody cares if I come or go. So there's no need to hold back."

"Did you hit your head or something?" she asked, genuinely concerned.

"No," he answered. "But you will."

* * *

T.K.O. ripped the saws off her hands last. It was more fun if she could fight back. He got her legs, then her midsection, and then finally he smashed her core. She'd done her best to protect it, and had even nicked him a couple of times. Considering he could teleport, that was pretty good.

T.K.O. touched a wire in the hand, and the electricity in him booted it right up. He smiled. "Ooh, I could get into some mega trouble with this." He whipped it around a bit, like he was trying to cut a pizza mid-air. "Some trees are gonna feel my  _wrath_  tonight."

Reality gave a swift tug, and the smile dropped from his face. "Seriously? I just  _saved_  your butt!" T.K.O. stumbled back, clutching at his head. "You know what? No! It's not going down like this! I'm not going out without a fight!"

He gripped the line of his scalp and gave a mighty jerk, and then K.O. was in the place he stood before, and T.K.O. was moving back, and they were both in the mindspace. His fists crackled with energy as he took up a pose.

"You promised!" K.O. wailed.

"You brought this on yourself," he hissed, then lunged at him.

K.O. blocked his hits as best he could, just barely dodging the rest. T.K.O. was too angry to remember that there was no gravity here- or perhaps he just didn't care- as he made no attempt to use it to his advantage. It struck him less as a battle and more as a temper tantrum.

"What is _wrong_  with you!?" K.O. exploded, grabbing his wrist and tossing him. "Why do you always have to pick a fight with the people closest to me?"

T.K.O. hit the ground, skittered a bit, and stood up, fangs bared. "People closest to you? That was a villain! A Boxmore robot!"

"It was a villain _this_  time!" He countered, counted them off on his fingers. "And, when it's  _not_  a villain, it's Mr. Gar, or mom, or Enid and Rad, or Dendy. You always go for the people I love!"

"I  _go_  after the people who've wronged us!" T.K.O. argued, making bunny ears on 'go'. "You're just too weak to realize when they're using you, K.O. The science baby thinks you're her project. Your co-workers treat us like we're useless. And that old man just sees you as an excuse to get closer to the woman he likes." He fazed out of existence, reappearing in front of him and grabbing at the collar of his shirt. "You always go back to the people who hurt us.  _Someone's_  gotta get even."

"They apologized!"

"Words are temporary. Punches last forever."

"Oh," K.O. said, grabbing his wrist. "Were you... protecting me?"

T.K.O. made a gagging noise and shoved him away. "Stop trying to make it all mushy. I just like fighting stuff." He turned on his heels and walked away. "Whatever. Take your body back. I was getting bored anyway."

"Our's."

"Huh?"

K.O. raised his voice. "It's  _our_  body. And... I don't know what you are, true. You could just be my imagination. You could be a physical representation of what I don't like about myself. But, for now, you're  _here_ , and you're  _real_ , and it's not  _fair_  of me to keep you locked up like this." He paused. "As long as you, like, don't try to wreck everything again. But if you just wanna, I dunno, go on walks or whatever... it doesn't seem right to say no."

K.O. walked over to the boy and grabbed his hand, shaking it.

"W-What are you doing?" T.K.O. asked, and for the first time ever, he didn't sound angry.

"We never properly introduced ourselves," K.O. responded. "I'm K.O. Nice to meet you, body-mate."

* * *

"Ugh," Rad groaned, peering out into the warm afternoon. "He's on my van again."

Enid didn't look up from her reading. "Tell him to buzz off."

The alien let out an uncomfortable whine. "You'll go with, right?"

"Are you serious?"

"He's scary, dude!"

She sighed and closed the magazine, setting it aside.

The duo walked out of the Bodega without so much as a second glance, though they both knew their boss wouldn't be pleased if a customer came in and the register was unmanned. When it came to T.K.O., he'd proven to be flexible, letting the boy run amok. His workers figured he just didn't want to have to rebuild the place while K.O. sniffled and said sorry over and over again.

"Hey!" Rad called up.

T.K.O. rolled over, sluggishly opening his eyes. "Can't a guy take a nap in peace around here?"

"Not on my van, you can't!" He waved his hands, like he were an errant bird he could shoo away. "Get off, you little cretin!"

In response, he raised his fist and made a dent in the roof, watching with interest as the teen convulsed with horror.

The driver's side window rolled down, and out popped Dendy, who carefully climbed up. "Hello, T.K.O."

"Hey."

"Why are you little monsters so in love with my van!?" Rad cried. Enid patted his shoulder sympathetically.

T.K.O. narrowed his eyes at her. "You gonna try and make me leave?"

"Negative." The kappa popped open her screen. "I just hypothesized you'd enjoy the new skate park over this."

"Skate park?" He ripped the hologram away from her, studying the address suspiciously. "If this place isn't real, I'm gonna beat the fish heads out of you."

"If you say so," she answered, unperturbed.

* * *

That night, when K.O. came to, he was in his room, sweaty from exorcise he couldn't remember doing. His pillow had been knocked off the bed and replaced with a badly-made flower crown, the petals bearing skulls made with cheap sharpie.

He took it and smiled.

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly this is, like, 50% characters throwing insults, 20% actual plot, 10% sleepy T.K.O., 20% fluff, and 100% an excuse to take a break from a sequel piece I'm doing. Fiddling with T.K.O. and K.O. as concepts is really interesting, and I wanted to see if I could make a middle ground between them without robbing T.K.O. of his, well, T.K.O.-ness. (For those curious, the only reason he wasn't all that violent at the beginning was because he was a sleepy boi. He needs his rest to smash stuff.)
> 
> -Mandaree1


End file.
